The mirror neuron system: grasping others’ actions from birth?

Abstract

In the adult human brain, the presence of a system matching the observation and the execution of actions is well established. This mechanism is thought to rely primarily on the contribution of so-called 'mirror neurons', cells that are active when a specific gesture is executed as well as when it is seen or heard. Despite the wealth of evidence detailing the existence of a mirror neuron system (MNS) in the adult brain, little is known about its normal development. Yet, a better understanding of the MNS in infants would be of considerable theoretical and clinical interest, as dysfunctions within the MNS have been demonstrated in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder. Arguments in favor of an innate, or very early, mechanism underlying action understanding mainly come from studies of neonatal imitation, the existence of which has been questioned by some. Here, we review evidence suggesting the presence of an MNS in the human child, as well as work that suggests, although indirectly, the existence of a mechanism matching the perception and the execution of actions in the human newborn.

Distinct mechanisms for multimodal integration and unimodal representation in spatial development

“…Conflicting results in developmental psychology attribute either a developmental period to spatial cognition (Piaget). Besides, these results conflict with other researches in which infants do demonstrate good coordination and coherence across modalities (Gibsonian), even from restricted pre-natal experiences [1], [2].…”

“…Besides, these results conflit with other researches in which neonates do demonstrate coordination and coherence across modalities, even from restricted pre-natal experiences [1], [2]. Post-natal experiments done by Gibson, Spelke and Meltzoff (among other researchers) on intermodal matching argue for such a view [8], [9], [10].…”

“…Conflicting results in developmental psychology attribute either a developmental period to spatial cognition (Piaget). Besides, these results conflict with other researches in which infants do demonstrate good coordination and coherence across modalities (Gibsonian), even from restricted pre-natal experiences [1], [2].In order to study both views, we present at first a simple model based on conditional learning which integrates visual and auditory modalities although it has some limitation regarding the number of degrees of freedom. In second, we propose then to use a sensory alignment mechanism, which allows the system to learn invariances in the world.…”

Just Imagine! Learning to Emulate and Infer Actions with a Stochastic Generative Architecture

“…The intercommunication between specific brain regions, which are often referred to as mirror neuron system or action observation network, has been suggested to enable this inference of others' intentions and imitation of their behavior (Buccino et al, 2004;Craighero, 2004, 2005;Iacoboni, 2005Iacoboni, , 2009Iacoboni and Dapretto, 2006;Kilner et al, 2007). While a genetic predisposition may supply the foundation to develop such a system (Rizzolatti and Craighero, 2004;Ferrari et al, 2006;Lepage and Théoret, 2007;Bonini and Ferrari, 2011;Casile et al, 2011), its development -per se -seems to be strongly determined by social interaction (Meltzoff, 2007;Heyes, 2010;Nagai et al, 2011;Froese et al, 2012;Saby et al, 2012), sensorimotor experience, motor cognition, and embodiment (Gallese and Goldman, 1998;Catmur et al, 2007;Gallese, 2007a;Gallese et al, 2009). Due to observations such as the foregoing, cognitive science has recently undergone a pragmatic turn, focusing on the enactive roots of cognition (Engel et al, 2013).…”

Neural basis of learning from television in young children

“…Nevertheless, electroencephalographic (EEG) and neuroimaging research has revealed that the mirror neuron system may be functional during early infancy (Lepage & Théoret, 2007;Marshall & Meltzoff, 2011;Shimada & Hiraki, 2006). Indeed, Shimada and Hiraki (2006) used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to show that 6-monthold infants activated the primary motor regions when observing another person's actions.…”